A Lesson in Romance
by QuietViolence
Summary: Genjo Sanzo is a 23 year old teacher who thinks all high school students are self-absorbed and obnoxious. Son Goku is the one senior that just might prove him wrong. AU, Shonen-ai.
1. Chapter 1

Title: A Lesson in Romance Author: quietviolence Summary: Genjo Sanzo is a 23 year old teacher who thinks all high school students are self-absorbed and obnoxious. Son Goku is the one senior that just might prove him wrong. AU, Shonen-ai. Pairing: 393  
  
Disclaimer: If you want to sue, you can have: my next door neighbors blockbuster card, seventy five cents, and leftover Easter candy. So yeah, I don't recommend it anyway. But just in case... "I do not own Saiyuki."  
  
Chapter 1:  
  
Genjo Sanzo, age 23, surveyed the room with violet eyes, wondering how in the world he, who hated all people but mostly teenagers, had ever ended up as a history teacher for seniors at the local high school. The kids around him looked as moody and disinterested as all the others he had ever taught. Respect and discipline were unknown to the people in the row in front of him; having been raised in a strict orphanage, disorganization and contempt were his two greatest pet peeves.  
  
The front row was comprised of four desks, and behind each of the first desks were three more organized in neat rows. At least the seating arrangements were tidy, he noted with a smirk. All the desks but one was filled as the bell rang a moment later. Instantly, everyone jerked to attention, and the girls in the class started winking to each other, trying to be discreet about their attraction to their new teacher. Standing at 6'1 and weighing only 140 pounds, Sanzo was used to this reaction; girls obsessing over his golden locks and flawless skin.  
  
Just as he was about to introduce himself, a boy of about eighteen years of age rushed through the door and plopped down in the seat directly front and center – on top of another boy.  
  
"Move, bakazaru!" the one who had been sitting there at the start of class shouted. His crimson hair waved wildly as he spun his head to stare at his attacker.  
  
The other boy glared. "No way, cockroach, you're in my seat! I always sit here!"  
  
Knowing that this disruption was not going to go away any time soon, Sanzo took matters into his own hands. He walked over and stood tall, leaning over the bickering pair. "When you're late, I expect you to stand outside the door until I allow you to come in. Do not come storming in and disturb my class," he told the brunette, whose honey eyes were sparkling brightly, despite Sanzo's berating tone.  
  
The late boy stood stock still for a moment before another glance at his teacher showed that he was expected to follow these directions immediately. He trotted off towards the doorway, and Sanzo let out yet another sign, wondering what he had gotten himself into by accepting this teaching position. He returned to his desk and began his lecture again, fully aware of the young boy standing in the threshold awaiting Sanzo's command to return.  
  
"Hello class. My name is Genjo Sanzo, and I'm your new history teacher. I hate immaturity and self-absorption and do not allow either in my classroom. In fact, I'm not a big fan of high school students in general, but no college would let someone as young as me teach there, so here I am. Now just because I'm young doesn't mean you can treat me with any less respect than you do your other teachers. Is that clear?"  
  
A few kids nodded their heads and a couple calls of "Yes, sensei" echoed through the room, but most of the students continued to stare down at their desks with a look of indifference.  
  
Sanzo looked out at the pathetic crowd before him and knew this would be a long semester of teaching. He turned to the boy in the doorway, "Okay, you may come in now. There's a seat available in the back."  
  
The brunette walked up the stairs and sat down in the seat that had been indicated before pulling out his notebooks and pencils, looking surprisingly eager to learn the material.  
  
Sanzo handed a sheet of paper on a clipboard to the closest desk. "This is your seating arrangement chart for the next three weeks. Fill out your full name, and memorize where you're sitting. When you are finished, we'll begin our lesson on the fall of the Roman Empire."  
  
The rest of the lesson went through without any real distractions, or any need for serious punishments of his students, which contributed much to Sanzo's decision that perhaps he would return to the school the next morning. After his second period class was over, Sanzo walked down the hallways to visit the man who had put in the recommendation that got Sanzo this job.  
  
"Ah, Sanzo. Survive your first day well enough?" the man asked. He was around 6 feet, give or take an inch or two, and dressed in a sage green shirt and khaki pants. A monocle covered one eye, a look that would have appeared pretentious or outdated on anyone else, but fit the brunette's appearance quite perfectly.  
  
"I'm alive, aren't I?" he responded gruffly. "But at least there's money involved. And it's a job. Wouldn't have it without you, Hakkai," he mumbled, but both men knew this was as close to a thank you as Sanzo would ever give.  
  
Hakkai chuckled slightly. "Students didn't give you too much trouble? It's the stunning good looks, isn't it? Keeps the girls in check?"  
  
"Son Goku disturbed the class instantly," Sanzo informed him, recalling the name he'd read off the seating chart.  
  
Hakkai nodded, knowingly. "I suppose you got him under control? That boy is one bouncing ball of energy, but he's really eager to learn." He chuckled slightly, and a hint of a true grin shined through on his mouth rather than the fake smile he wore throughout the day.  
  
"I'll give him a chance then," Sanzo said, turning towards the door when he realized his next class began in ten minutes. "Only because he has your recommendation, and I happen to trust that."  
  
"Only because I got you this job," Hakkai teased the blonde man as he turned back to the papers he had been grading. As Hakkai marked the eighth 'C' he started to reminisce about his friendship with the harsh and silent man.  
  
Sanzo and Hakkai had been raised in the same neighborhood, Hakkai by his birth parents and Sanzo in an orphanage on the corner of Elm and Hurst. But Sanzo hadn't been completely lacking in a paternal figure during his teen years, the boy had a mentor named Komyo Sanzo who he admired greatly. Hakkai remembered the older man who had taught both of them so much during their adolescence. And he remembered the suffering his friend went through after Komyo Sanzo passed away right before they turned sixteen. It was then that his friend became closed off and difficult to reach. Hakkai, who was the closest thing Sanzo had to friend, was only occasionally able to break down the walls his friend had built after the death of his mentor. As Hakkai finished reading the paper in his hand, he smiled yet again as he marked it an 'A' before looking at the name at the top of the essay. But of course, he thought, Son Goku.  
  
A/N: Okay, so this is a bit random since I actually prefer 83 to 39, but it just popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it. So anyway, I hope you like it... 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: A Lesson in Romance  
Author: quietviolence

Summary: Genjo Sanzo is a 23 year old teacher who thinks all high school students are self-absorbed and obnoxious. Son Goku is the one senior that just might prove him wrong. AU, Shonen-ai. 

Pairing: 393 (references to previous 383)

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own the boys, and this time you just might get two hair bands in the mix if you sue, so this disclaimer is very important to me. Heh. 

**Chapter 2: **

After a week of rotating through multiple classes, Sanzo noticed a pattern that had developed immediately in the semester. Goku's tardiness was apparently not a one time thing, as his teacher soon realized. Indeed, it seemed like every morning Sanzo was holding his lesson back nearly ten minutes to accommodate the tiny brunette. Monday, a full week after the initial class, Sanzo decided he would have to do something about the boy's habitual lateness. 

"Son Goku, please come to my desk," Sanzo said without looking up from his desk. Just as he had expected, Goku was standing outside the door awaiting permission to enter the classroom. 

"Yes, sir." Goku walked to the desk without hesitation. "I apologize for being late, sensei." 

Sanzo peered through his wire rimmed glasses at the boy before him. "Goku, I expect to see you in my office and half past three to discuss your repeated tardiness," he informed the student. "With your parents." 

"But--!" Goku started, only to be silenced by the other man.

"No buts. You have constantly used up valuable minutes of my class time," he said, still annoyed, as if having to point this out was physically painful for him. "I may be young and right out of college, but I'm not an idiot."

"You don't understand. I don't live with my parents anymore. They disowned me as soon as it was legal to do so. I live on my own now," the boy repeated, finally getting his story in. He had lowered his voice to a near whisper, and looking up with pleading amber eyes. 

Sanzo felt a slight touch of pity for the youth, which surprised him, considering his opinion of disruptive high school students. A part of his head told him that this was probably because he knew how the boy felt; he'd been raised without parents after all. But he never listened to that portion of his brain when it talked, there was no reason to dwell on the past. He looked back to Goku. "Fine then. But I still expect you to be in my office promptly at three thirty. Now sit down, I'm tired of you." 

The rest of the period, as well as the other classes that day, passed without any real disruptions. A boy and a girl that were frantically passing notes were assigned a detention, and many pieces of gum were confiscated, but aside from that it was relatively uneventful. 

As he sat in his office at quarter past three, however, Sanzo allowed his thoughts to drift back to Komyo Sanzo, who was as close to a father as Sanzo had ever had. Something about Goku made Sanzo think of the older man, perhaps that he was the only way the blonde had survived parentless childhood. The teacher wiped at his eyes, willing the tears that threatened to fall away. He had shed too many as a young boy, and vowed never to cry again, no matter how much his body wanted him to. 

The teacher glanced at his clock, and sure enough it read 3:35, more or less time for his council with Goku. "Come in and sit. You know why you're here. Do you plan to do it again?" 

For some reason unbeknownst to him, the brunette felt a strange need to please the older man in front of him. "I'm sorry, sensei, but my car has been continually stalling out on the drive here due to the weather, and the walk is rather long. I really am trying to get here on time, but it's extremely difficult to do so without a car or the option of taking the bus." 

"Then leave earlier," Sanzo stated harshly. A moment later, however, when he noticed the look in the boy's eyes, another ounce of sympathy passed through the older man, and he felt the need to at least try to make less hostile conversation with his student.

"So why did your parents kick you out?" the blonde asked, genuinely wondering why this boy was living alone at age eighteen. "Annoy them too much too?" So much for friendly conversation, he thought to himself. 

Goku looked down at the hands in his lap, instantly somber again. He wasn't sure that he wanted to share this with the man in front of him, but common sense told him that withholding information from a teacher wouldn't matter. He knew Sanzo would come by the facts through another source soon enough. "No, sir. My family kicked me out because I was a disgrace. I--" Goku faltered. "I'm gay, and my family finds that unacceptable."

Sanzo looked at the boy before him, taken somewhat aback by his student's confession. Though the teacher preferred to avoid relationships as a whole, and therefore didn't have much of a sexuality, he did remember what Komyo Sanzo had taught him when he was a teenager. Sanzo's mentor had walked in on Hakkai and Sanzo in the midst of youthful experimentation that most thirteen and fourteen year old boys experience at least once, and given the two of them a discussion on their behavior. That day, Sanzo was taught that while there was nothing wrong with what he and Hakkai had done, there were people in the world who found two men being involved in a relationship unacceptable. He just couldn't imagine living in an intolerant household like Goku, and somehow managed to feel another tinge of emotion for the innocent looking boy before him. 

Before he realized what he was saying, the older of the two found himself speaking to his student. "You say your car broke down yet again today, do you need a ride home?" 

"Really? Oh, thank you so much, Sanzo! I wasn't looking forward to walking in the rain," the boy said, and Sanzo noted that he was bouncing back to his normal enthusiasm instantly. 

Feeling as if he needed an excuse for his offer, he added, "Well, if you missed school due to a cold, I wouldn't want to have to bring you up to speed." 

Despite the harsh comments from his mentor, the boy couldn't help but smile when the teacher had offered his assistance without even really noticing that he was proposing the offer at all. In Goku's mind, things that were said on impulse carried more meaning than strategically planned speech. 

A moment later they were in Sanzo's car, a Honda that looked a couple years old but perfectly clean, heading towards a sketchier part of town that housed Goku's apartment. "Sensei?" the young boy ventured after quite a long silence. "Would you like to go to dinner tonight? I don't want to head home just yet, and I bet you don't want to go home to an empty house either. Plus . . . I'm hungry!" Once again, Goku had reverted to his childish alter-ego.

"You really are a bakazaru, aren't you? Do you expect people wouldn't talk if they noticed a teacher and a student eating together? Not to mention a young teacher and a gay student," he pointed out. 

"What's wrong with that?" Goku asked, obviously oblivious to the connotations that Sanzo and the rest of the world interpreted from situations like that. "It's just dinner," the boy offered, completely missing the entire point. 

For some reason, Sanzo found he couldn't shoot down the boy again. "Fine, let's go." After a moment he added a "monkey" for good measure. Ten minutes later the two found themselves seated in a McDonalds, ordering at the counter. 

As Goku's list went on, Sanzo found himself wishing he hadn't offered to pay for the younger boy. "And I'd like a number three, and a number four, both super sized. Dr. Peppers with those. Ooo! And a Reese's McFlurry," he finished off finally. 

Sanzo approached the counter to add his order, aware of the looks he was getting from the other people in the restaurant. He had to admit, it was rather odd to see two men eating together, with one of them paying, but he didn't know why they had to stare like that. A moment later he realized just what they'd noticed – Goku was wearing his school uniform, and Sanzo was dressed in what he liked to call his "teaching garb" complete with wire rimmed glasses. It was obvious what this scene appeared like to the masses, just as Sanzo had suspected from the beginning. _Oh well_, he thought to himself as he placed a single order for a Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait and paid for the two of them. 

"Think you ordered enough, baka?" Sanzo asked when they finally sat down at the table with all of their food. Only seconds before, Sanzo had attempted to seize a single fry from Goku's tray only to have it snatched back forcefully, a tirade about the boy's hunger accompanying it. "Shut up or I'll kill you," Sanzo demanded forcefully, annoyed by the stares of the others in the restaurant. 

After that, Sanzo could tell that his student was really trying as hard as he could to contain his explosive personality. Goku made an effort to remain on neutral conversational topics that would make him seem more mature and worthy of spending time with the blonde. "Today's lesson was great. I don't really like learning about a bunch of dead old people, but you made it seem interesting." 

"I happen to enjoy studying those 'dead old people', thank you very much," he responded, but somehow Sanzo found himself more amused than insulted by the young boy's take on history. And somewhat honored by the compliment that had been paid to him. 

The conversation carried on, though more one-sided, as Sanzo didn't seem inclined to speak much at all, no matter how well Goku was behaving himself. Little did the younger boy realize that his companions thoughts were not off in the distance, but rather centered around the person blabbering senselessly at him. Sanzo couldn't help but smile despite himself at the overeager boy before him, who was now explaining the last time he had really enjoyed a book – it seemed that all the boy read were mangas and old children's books. 

"Finished eating yet, baka?" Sanzo asked, silencing his dinner company. "I've got work to do." 

Goku swallowed the last of his food and rushed to throw both his and Sanzo's away at the trashcan. Almost instantly the two were in Sanzo's car once again, heading towards the apartment Goku lived in once again. When they got there, however, the youth realized that once again he wouldn't be sleeping in his apartment. Unfortunately, it was too late to hit up one of his coworkers for a place to stay, and the boy didn't even want to think about what to do. 

"Well, this isn't going to work," Sanzo said irritably when he spotted the gang outside the doors of the apartment building, guns in hand. Watching the hoodlums, Sanzo became even more annoyed. Not because they were handling weapons and wrecking havoc – Sanzo had done his fair share of that at their age – but rather because he realized what he had to do. Instantly he put his foot on the gas and sped off down the street silently. 

"Where are we going?" Goku asked, curiously. He wondered what exactly the other man was thinking. He was capable of reading most people, but his new teacher seemed to be completely inhuman due to his lack of expression. 

"My place," was all the violet-eyed man said. The rest of the drive was continued in complete silence until Sanzo pulled into a parking garage and got out of the car, waiting for Goku. "Hurry up and move. I'm giving you a house for the night, don't push it."

Goku followed obediently, bouncing up and down and bounding through the halls behind his teacher. His mind briefly flicked to Sanzo's sexual orientation, but he knew better than to ask it of the other man. Naïve as he may have seemed, most of the happy-go-lucky attitude he put up was just that, a front. He knew exactly why their dinner drew attention, but he simply didn't want to think about it. 

"Wear this," Sanzo said, throwing a pair of grey pants and a tank top to the younger boy. A minute later Goku walked into the central room to find out where he was sleeping, and was surprised to see Sanzo sitting there in just boxers. "You're on the couch, monkey. Have a nice night," he said, smirking. He hopped up and walked out of the room to what Goku figured was the bedroom. 

Midway through the night Goku heard whimpers mingled with yelling coming from Sanzo's bedroom. Worried about the other man, the brunette ambled through the dark and into the room to find his teacher shifting back and forth on the bed, obviously in the midst of a horrible nightmare. Unsure of what else to do, the younger boy slid under the blankets and wrapped his arm around Sanzo, hoping to calm him. He had every intention of slipping out two minutes later and returning to the couch, but sleep overtook him and he awoke six hours later in Sanzo's bed. 

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" Sanzo angrily asked the boy who was still tangled with him. "Do you normally glomp people in the middle of the night?"

Nervous, Goku blurted out his story, trying to excuse himself. "Well, you were shaking and shouting in your sleep and I was just trying to comfort you and keep you calm and this was the only way I knew how and then I was going to go back to the couch but I drifted off and… I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to invade your personal space or anything, really." 

Sanzo stood up and glanced out the window. "Ah, it rained last night, didn't it?" he asked. The ground was soaking wet. Of course, he thought unhappily, even in his sleep the rain still got to him, reminding him of Komyo Sanzo's death. "Hurry and get dressed, we're running late."

Goku didn't know what to make of this comment on the weather, but it obviously had some significance. Either way, as Goku glanced at the clock that read 7:48 he realized that Sanzo wasn't kidding about them being tardy, and rushed to get ready.

A/N: First of all, sorry that my chapters have been pretty short lately, I'm going to try to start getting them to be a bit longer in the next few. Secondly, thanks a ton to all my reviewers. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: A Lesson in Romance  
Author: quietviolence

Summary: Genjo Sanzo is a 23 year old teacher who thinks all high school students are self-absorbed and obnoxious. Son Goku is the one senior that just might prove him wrong. AU, Shonen-ai. 

Pairing: 393 (references to previous 383)

Disclaimer: Well, I now am a proud owner of a $10 tiara that I got for my birthday, so I really must emphasize that I don't own Saiyuki, and therefore you cannot sue me.  

**Chapter 3: **

**Chapter 3:**

Five minutes later the two of them ran out of apartment and got into the car, speeding off towards the high school. Neither of them looked up to their usual standards, both seemed to have had a long night without sleep. When they wandered into the classroom at the same time, eleven minutes late, Sanzo was greeted by the vice principal, who was very firm in telling Sanzo that he would see him and Goku in his office as soon as this class period was over. 

With that meeting that was sure to be wonderful to look forward to, Sanzo rushed through an analysis of Feudalism in the Middle Ages and dismissed his class five minutes early to have a chance to speak with Goku. 

"Goku, you realize just how this must look to the administration? You need to be careful with what you say," he told the boy. Though Sanzo wasn't extremely excited about his current teaching position, he felt no need to rush to lose his job. 

Goku nodded solemnly. "I know, Sanzo. I'm not a little kid," he said, a bit heatedly, annoyed with having been treated as if he was totally incapable since he had met the man only seven days beforehand. 

"Could've fooled me," Sanzo told him before heading towards the vice principals office where his fate rested.

He bowed respectfully when he entered. "Usugi-sama," he said, nodding to the other man. Goku followed his example a second later. 

"Genjo Sanzo, Son Goku, you both know why you're here, don't you? The two of you left the school in a car together yesterday, and arrived looking worn out and late the next morning in the same car. Not to mention the repetition of Son Goku's clothes." The man said this all professionally. "You must realize how this looks from an administrative standpoint." 

Sanzo stepped forward. "Usugi-sama, with all due respect, allow me to tell my story. Yes, I gave Goku a ride home last night, and yes, I gave him a ride to school this morning. When we arrived at his apartment the doors were blocked by a tough looking gang, and I had no choice but to take him back to my own home for the night. If you ask him, you will receive the exact same story." 

"It's true, Usugi, sir," Goku said, nodding furtively. "Sanzo was just giving me a home for the night is all." 

The principal nodded in understanding before looking at the two men before him. "Either way, I think the two of you should try to stay clear of each other outside of classes. The last thing this school needs is a rumor of inappropriate relationships between teachers and students." He paused to make sure they both took his words seriously. "Sanzo, may I speak to you alone now? Goku, you're permitted to go back to class." 

Goku bowed once more on his way out the door and headed towards his next class, leaving Sanzo in the office. 

"Sanzo, I think its best for you to know some things about Goku," the principal started the conversation. "Obviously you know that he's living on his own, since you've seen his neighborhood, but do you know why?" 

The blonde teacher looked at the man in front of his, surprised. "I know exactly why Goku got kicked out unjustly, but I don't know why that matters." 

"Don't you understand? A boy with a reputation for that… well, it wouldn't seem good for him to be too close to a young, attractive male teacher. Please keep your distance." 

Sanzo stared his boss down. "What if I don't want to completely cut off contact with my students?" His distaste for authority that had always gotten him in trouble as a teenager was coming back, and he couldn't help from testing the limits of his superior. "I just don't see the difference between befriending Goku versus some straight kid." 

"Please, Sanzo, don't press this. You're an excellent teacher and your students love you, I can't afford to fire you. Please don't make such drastic actions be necessary," he finished. Before Sanzo could respond to this he started up again. "I believe you're now three minutes late to teach your next class. I apologize. You are dismissed," he told Sanzo, in a condescending tone. 

Biting back the witty comments that threatened to break free, Sanzo stormed out of the office and into his classroom, rushing through the days lesson and eventually telling his students to just work on their homework for the last half of class. Why was he getting so upset over this, he didn't understand. He despised relationships and other people, so why was he so emotionally attached to this cheerful young boy? These were the thoughts that occupied his mind as he drifted off into a restless slumber in his office between classes. 

And so the two avoided each other outside of class for the next month, not because Sanzo had any respect for the head of the school, but because Goku didn't want to be the source of Sanzo's unemployment. It was a boring month for both of them and each knew why, though Sanzo would never have admitted that he missed the boy to anyone, including himself.  

Despite Sanzo's inability to accept his feelings, Hakkai picked up almost instantly that his blonde friend was lonelier since his student had begun to avoid him. And that was the reason Hakkai had good news to tell Sanzo one Wednesday morning. 

"Hakkai," Sanzo said, nodding in welcome.

Hakkai returned the greeting before explaining his presence in the other's office. "As you know, there's a camping trip for the seniors coming up next month," he started, unsure of how to break the news without being killed by his fellow teacher. 

"Yes?" Sanzo asked as if irked, though really he was simply curious. 

"Well, they needed chaperones and…" Hakkai drifted off, seeing the look on Sanzo's face and knowing there was nothing else he needed to say. 

Sanzo tried to appear annoyed with the brunette, but he knew the other man meant well and found himself unable to gather much anger. Before he realized what he was saying, a question found its way to Sanzo's lips. "Is Goku going to be there?" 

"Of course, he's a senior, isn't he?" Hakkai said, trying to downplay his amusement to prevent angering Sanzo. 

And so that was that, thought the blonde teacher after Hakkai had left the room. He was going to spend a week camping with the seniors, which would of course be hell, but Goku was going to be there, and for some reason Sanzo felt more excited at than annoyed at that prospect. The instant Sanzo realized this, however, he forced his mind to focus once more on preparing next week's test. 

A/N: I'm still working on longer chapters, since I'd written this one pretty much completely when I posted chapter 2. Sorry I forgot about it with the stress of school. It's my last week before I have exams, and I've got two concerts to go to this coming weekend (My friend has a gig! Yay! Sorry, I'm really happy for him) and then I have exams. So it may be a couple weeks till the next update. Sorry!! Anyway, thanks again to all my reviewers, it makes me feel really great to get those emails from botfanfiction.net with people talking about my story. So I really hope that I'm keeping up with your standards. 


	4. Chapter 4

Title: A Lesson in Romance  
Author: quietviolence

Summary: Genjo Sanzo is a 23 year old teacher who thinks all high school students are self-absorbed and obnoxious. Son Goku is the one senior that just might prove him wrong. AU, Shonen-ai.

Pairing: 393 (references to previous 383)

Disclaimer: I do not own Saiyuki. If I owned Saiyuki, many many people would be fucking each other's brains out, and they would completely forget about their mission. Which I suppose would be bad… So maybe it's a good thing I only get to use them in fan fiction.

**Chapter 4:**

"So, Sanzo, you decided to show," Hakkai said, though not in an insulting manner. "I have to admit, I wasn't sure what you'd say at the prospect of a week camping outdoors with the students. I'm glad you came though, I could use someone to talk to." After Hakkai had finished his monologue he followed his companion's gaze to wear it rested on the face of a bouncy, golden-eyed young boy. "Of course, I almost forgot the reason you're here," he said knowingly.

"Shut up, I'm not here for that baka," Sanzo retorted, but his anger only made it apparent that he was embarrassed about the comment. "He's annoying, for one. At least he's finally started getting to school on time," the blonde finished off, but he still found himself unable to keep his gaze from lingering where his student was chatting animatedly with a pink-haired boy.

Another knowing chuckle escaped the lips of the man beside him. "Only a couple more months until graduation," he said, obviously taunting though still managing to sound innocent.

"Genjo Sanzo, Cho Hakkai, come here to receive your assignments," another of the teachers who was in charge of the trip called out to them. The two men went over to her, and she began to brief them on their trip. "The rest of the day they're free to explore, but they must be back to camp by seven for dinner. They should be asleep at midnight at the latest, and wake-up is at eight A.M." She laughed at the two sighs that showed their opinion of the wake-up time. "I could change it to six, you know," she informed them, a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. "And finally, tents. We're letting most of the students stay in tents alone, but there are a couple students we have to keep an eye on, so you two are in charge of them. You're to share your tent with Son Goku and Sha Gojyo. Goku is in trouble for tardiness, so bunking with you is his punishment – Not that it won't be fun or anything," she added when she saw the displeased look on Sanzo's face. "Gojyo is simply known for sneaking off with girls during the night, so you need to watch and make sure that doesn't happen. And that's just about it," she finished and waved them off, ready to brief the next two teachers.

"Interesting," Hakkai said, smiling yet again. Sometimes Sanzo wanted to shoot that smile off Hakkai's face, but at other times it calmed him and made him glad to have that man by his side.

Sanzo quickened his pace to escape the other man. "I hate camping," he muttered as he headed towards the place where his two charges were beginning to set up the tent. By the looks of it, the two weren't doing a very good job with the assembly of the dark green canvas. "Move," he said harshly before fixing it in only a couple of minutes.

"How'd you do that, Sensei?" Goku questioned, looking at the man with adoration.

"It's not hard, baka," Sanzo said without softening his tone and walked away, headed off towards the river and pulling out a cigarette. It was chilly, seeing as it was March, and Sanzo found himself wishing for a warm jacket.

Sanzo heard footsteps behind him, but chose to ignore them. He found it difficult to pretend the person didn't exist, however, when he was standing right beside Sanzo. Long magenta locks invaded Sanzo's peripheral vision as Gojyo sat down to his left and turned to face the teacher.

"What the hell are you doing?" the blonde said gruffly, not wanting to be pestered by the younger man, and already in quite a bad mood from the weather.

Gojyo didn't seem at all surprised or upset by harshness of the older man's tone. "It's more what the hell are you doing. The monkey loves you. And that kid may annoy the shit out of me sometimes, but I have to keep an eye out for him." Gojyo looked deeply into the blonde's eyes with a death glare many assassins would kill for. "And that includes hurting anyone who hurts him. So don't fuck this up," he said, not at all worried about the obscenities he had addressed his teacher with.

"I can't help that he loves me," Sanzo replied coldly. "It's foolish, really. He doesn't even know me."

Gojyo stared off towards the trees surrounding them. "You can't help who you love," he said, almost with a hint of wistfulness in his voice. Sanzo was sure he'd imagined the remorse in Gojyo's voice, though, when the younger man hopped up suddenly, once again spouting off energetically, "So don't hurt the monkey, and we're all good. I'm watching you, Sanzo. Bye."

Once he was alone again, Sanzo reflected back on his student's words. Of course he had known that Goku was in love with him; that boy's heart was about as opaque as glass. But what bothered Sanzo was Gojyo's assumptions that he returned the "monkey's" feelings. The blonde wasn't even sure in his own heart how he felt about the little baka, and yet here was a student of his telling Sanzo exactly how he felt. And yet maybe… maybe Gojyo knew something Sanzo had been keeping from himself.

A/N: Yes, I know this chapter is even shorter than usual. I keep trying to make them longer and yet I can't seem to make them work out the way I want them to and still be long. Who knows. I hope you liked it, and I promise now that school is officially out that the next chapter will be out in the next three days.  


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